"They told me that it would be another couple of weeks," he said. "She hates the treatment facility and is fighting them the whole way. They told me it was best if family didn't visit for a while."
"But we need some answers!" I cried. "She can't just hide in rehab."
"Maybe that's just what she's trying to do," he said. "Maybe she doesn't want to tell us what's going on or what happened to Molly."
"I want to know, Patrick," I said, determined to confront my mother and find out the truth. "Riley deserves to know, and we do, too."
Patrick stood silently for a long time and gave me an almost imperceptible nod.
We would find out what happened to Molly, and then leave the past where it belonged.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Jack
I'd been finalizing the last parts of my plan for dinner that night. I'd wanted to do a quick run through of how the evening's events would unfold and go through the information I'd gathered.
"Where'd Leah go?" I asked Norma.
"Darlin’, I haven't got a clue," she shrugged as she continued opening the mail. "Not my day to watch the girl."
I sighed loudly and headed down to the warehouse where the best I could get out of Burt was the fact that Leah had said she'd had some errands to run. Her office was empty and there was nothing written on her calendar. I tried her cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail.
"Dammit, Leah!" I muttered as I took the back stairs up to my office. "Where are you?"
I marched back into the office and gathered up the files I'd been working on before heading out. I'd asked Norma to join us for dinner, partly as a witness, but also as a backup for all the information we'd spent the week gathering. I knew that when Lincoln and Sloan started pushing my buttons, I'd need backup in the form of some logical, fact-based input that neither one of them could dispute. Norma and Leah were my backups, but without Leah here to go through the information, Norma had become a very important part of the plan.
"You'll be there before eight, right?" I said as I walked through the front office where Norma was taking care of the last bits of the day's business.
"You can count on me, darlin'," she said with a wide smile. "Wouldn't miss little Miss Snotty P
ants getting her comeuppance for the world."
"Norma, you're a piece of work," I laughed. "Just remember that you and Leah are my backups if things get rough."
"Darlin', I've got family, too," she said with a knowing nod of the head. "We'll have your back."
I had Jimmy make two stops on the way home and then drop me off before sending him back to the office in case Leah showed up. I cursed myself for not having hired a separate car for her when she and Riley had moved in, and I made a mental note to fix that as soon as possible. If I'd done it sooner, I'd know where she was right now and wouldn't be worrying about whether she was going to show up or not.
My mother had prepared the dining room for our guests, and it looked just as I had hoped it would.
"You've outdone yourself, Mother," I said kissing her cheek as she arranged flowers in a vase on the sideboard.
"I'm glad you approve," she smiled. "I did my best to set up what you wanted. I've got a kitchen full of people preparing dinner, and the cook is not very happy about that."
"I'll make it up to her," I said as I scanned the room and made sure to take note of where my mother had set the place cards. "Norma will be here by seven-thirty to do a quick run through of the program, but I can't find Leah anywhere. Have you heard from her?"
"No, dear, I haven't," my mother said. "But I wouldn't worry. She'll be here. Of that I'm sure."
"Well, if you're sure, then I'll trust your instincts," I said warily. I wasn't entirely convinced, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now.
I ran into Riley as I was just about to head upstairs to shower and dress. She was red cheeked and excited about something she held in her hand as she raced through the downstairs toward the dining room and my mother.
"Betty! Betty! Look what I found!" she called as she collided with me. "Oof! Sorry, Jack!"
"What have you got there?" I asked looking down at her cupped hands.
"A frog!" she cried as she opened her hands and a tiny green reptile crawled up her fingers before launching itself at me. "Jack! Watch out!"